Assiniboine Man

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Assiniboine Man

Date

June 29, 1833

Dimensions

17 1/8 × 11 15/16 in. (43.5 × 30.3 cm)

Medium

Watercolor and graphite on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.255

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

The name of this Assiniboin warrior is unknown. Apparently a solemn young man, he remained reserved until Bodmer's music box made him laugh. His quilled and beaded shirt is fringed with leather rather than hair and he carries a flintlock trade gun. Not all of the Assiniboins at Fort Union possessed guns in 1833 because they were expensive. Maximilian said that guns were purchased by the American Fur Company from England for eight dollars each and then sold to the Indians for the equivalent of thirty dollars. As a comparison, ermine skins were bartered for six dollars a piece. Many Indians had nothing to trade but their own clothing, with a finely painted robe bringing from six to ten dollars. This individual appears as a background figure in Tableau 32 of the aquatint atlas.

References in Journal

June 29, 1833

Labels:

genre, portrait

Approximate Depicted Location:

Fort Union, North Dakota